


A Moment of Passion

by The_Tevinter_Biscuit



Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Dragon Age: Inquisition Spoilers, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Skyhold (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:02:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23070640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Tevinter_Biscuit/pseuds/The_Tevinter_Biscuit
Summary: Fenris comes to a visit a very upset and frustrated Ariel.
Relationships: Fenris/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	A Moment of Passion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Maiden_of_Wolves](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maiden_of_Wolves/gifts).



> A commission for the lovely Maiden! It's always a pleasure to work with you! :)

No one had seen Ariel for the better part of the day.

She had been pacing around her room ever since she had heard the news, frustration digging at her very core as the reality of their crumbling society unfurled itself. If no one did anything, Thedas itself was going to fall, be reborn into a place dictated by a corrupt ‘god’. Fen’Harel would not get his way. That’s all he was to them now, Solas was not their friend, their ally, any longer.

He was Fen’Harel and he had plans to commit genocide. For what? The supposed _greater good_? If so many innocent people had to die in order to achieve it, there could not be a greater good in it.

But what could she do about it? This was something beyond most of them, except maybe the Inquisitor.

Ariel was about ready to tear her hair out from her scalp. She was sure that the people below her must be getting sick of the thumping of her feet as she walked back and forth in her room, the floorboards creaking under her weight.

Then, the door creaked open.

It made Ariel stop in her tracks, her shoulders rigid. She was hardly in the mood to see anyone right now, no matter who it was, and if they tested her, she would surely find the nerve to tell them to get lost. All she needed to hear now was good news, nothing else.

“Who—” she began before turning around to see who was standing at her doorway. The sight made her pause.

Fenris was leaning on the doorframe, his arms folded over his chest. He had one dark eyebrow cocked, looking directly at Ariel with that slightly disgruntled gaze that she was so familiar with. Surprisingly, it made her shoulders relax. Even though he wasn’t the best at comforting people, Fenris was a calming presence.

“Fenris,” she said softly. She sighed and shook her head. “What are you doing here?”

“Do I need a reason to be?” he replied.

Ariel looked away from him. She didn’t want him to see her like this. It was ugly and horrid, an anger that she kept sealed away deep inside her. Fenris deserved better than that. In all the time she had known him, she knew that he too struggled with aggression but it was… different.

“You don’t want to see me right now,” she mumbled.

She dare not look over her shoulder as she heard the rumble of Fenris’s light footsteps on the wooden floor, creaking each board as he stepped closer. Her heart thumped in her chest. She didn’t know what she’d do if he reached out and touched her.

“You’re being ridiculous,” he said.

Ariel’s bottom lip trembled. Fenris had always been abrupt, he said what he thought and it was something that Ariel had always admired even if it dug right into her sensitivities from time to time. She knew that he never meant to hurt her.

“I mean it Fenris,” she said shakily. She hated the way her voice trembled. It was so weak.

Fenris let out a long sigh.

“I heard about what happened,” he said slowly. “It makes me just as angry as you are.”

_You don’t look like it!_ Ariel wanted to shout. He stood in her room so calmly, looking at her with a neutral expression, no sign of anger on his face. If anything, that only made her feel more infuriated. How could he stand there like that? Look at her like that? What right did he have?

But there was no way that Ariel could say any of those things. She just kept her mouth shut and turned the other way, like a good girl. That was the way it had always been. She had always been too afraid of the consequences of speaking out, especially in the presence of such dangerous individuals like the ones at Skyhold. These were people who could save the world or end it if they so chose to. It was a huge risk to upset them.

“I don’t know what to do,” Ariel whispered. Her fingers curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms. “If… If Solas goes through with this… No, no, I can’t even call him Solas anymore. He’s not. That’s not him. If _Fen’Harel_ goes through with this… so many innocent people are going to die, Fenris. To make matters worse, there’s nothing I can do about it! I’m expected to just sit around and wait! Wait for people to die, oh Maker, what are we going to do?”

She was pacing again.

Just as Ariel was about to open her mouth again and start rambling more about what had just happened, Fenris stood in front of her. Their eyes met briefly. There was something intoxicating in his gaze, determination, frustration? Ariel couldn’t quite make it out.

Then, all in a rush, there were rough hands on her pale cheeks. She could feel the ridges of the lines of lyrium on Fenris’s fingers. What was he doing?

Before she could say anything, do anything, there were lips on hers.

Ariel blinked owlishly, taking in the strange, foreign sensation. Fenris’s lips were warm, slightly chapped from the icy weather, but ultimately pleasant. Her mind spun, the room twisting and turning with it. Fenris was… kissing her? Why? Not to say that she didn’t _want_ him to.

For a moment, she wondered if she was going to pass out.

When he pulled away from her, there was a thin line of saliva that connected them. Ariel was frozen on the spot, her eyes darting from Fenris’s lips to the seemingly bewildered expression on his face. What was he looking so confused for? He wasn’t the only who had just gotten kissed out of nowhere! This didn’t make any sense.

“Fenris…” she whispered.

There was a lump in her throat making it hard to swallow, hard to breathe. It felt like her every nerve was on fire, blazing, and making her body shake. For so long, she and Fenris had been close. They were friends. Ariel had pushed down any feelings that might’ve arose at the possibility of them being _more_ than just friends. It was inappropriate, she told herself, and she didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. She didn’t want **Fenris** to get hurt. He’d been through enough in his life and the last thing he needed was her meddling and the chaos of her life added to it.

But he’d kissed her. So, what did that mean? Did he have feelings after all?

No, no. He couldn’t, he _shouldn’t_.

“Apologies,” he grumbled in that gruff voice of his.

Ariel shook her head. There were so many thoughts racing through her head and she didn’t know how to expel them from her mouth without it all coming out in a garbled mess swamped by tears. Everything in her body told her that she should be happy. She should be elated, _over the moon_ , about this revelation. Fenris _liked_ her and not just as a friend. As someone… As someone he wanted to kiss!

“You… kissed me,” she whispered.

Fenris nodded. “Is that a problem?”

He couldn’t possibly understand. Everyone that had ever gotten close to her ended up in a pool of blood. She couldn’t take any more of that, the violence, it was too much. What if something happened to Fenris?

No, no, no.

“Ariel?”

Ariel’s breath hitched, choked on a sob, as she realised that she’d said that last bit out loud. She covered her mouth and took a few shaky steps back. Tears were bubbling in her eyes, clinging to her long eyelashes, and after a few more moments, she couldn’t stop them from falling down her cheeks in delicate waterfalls.

She hated this.

Other people weren’t allowed to see her cry. She didn’t want to make Fenris feel bad, but would it be worth it if it meant that he would leave her alone? If he did, then he wouldn’t get hurt. He wouldn’t have to die.

Her cries were quiet but wavering, her breath quaking with every single inhale and exhale.

“I did not mean to upset you,” Fenris continued. “I…”

Once again, Ariel simply shook her head, but she squeezed her eyes shut this time. In a hurry, she attempted to wipe away the tears with her fist. However, it was no use. No matter how hard she scrubbed, they just kept coming. She sniffled and eventually she dared to look up at Fenris. Her heart ached at his pained expression.

“It’s not… It’s not that,” she whispered.

Fenris breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay. I don’t like to see you upset. So, what is it?”

He had always gotten straight to the point. Ariel’s fingers twitched as she debated on how to approach this. It was difficult to open up to people. There were things she’d kept bottled up for years, struggles she’d kept quiet. It was for the good of everyone else, of course, she didn’t want to be a burden. She was grateful that they even allowed her to stay in Skyhold.

“I… No, I can’t. Look, I just…We… I just can’t,” she said. She watched Fenris press his lips tightly together. “I don’t want anything to happen to you, Fenris. Oh Maker, I would never forgive myself.”

“Slow down,” Fenris said, putting his hand out to touch her shoulder. On impulse, Ariel slapped it again and turned her head away from him. “Nothing is going to happen to me. What is going on, Ariel?”

Ariel took a deep inhale. She would have to get this off her chest one way or another. At the very least, she knew that she could trust Fenris.

“I… Everyone I like, they… they always get hurt. Or die. I can’t let that happen to you. You don’t want to be on that list. Please. I won’t let you,” she said.

It was like swallowing knives. She didn’t want to see Fenris’s face, she didn’t want to know how he reacted to this information. Maybe he would look upon her with disgust, with regret, he would finally see how pathetic she was and deem her unworthy of his affection in the first place. That would hurt, of course it would, it would sting for days and days. Though, it would have nothing on the agony of looking upon him and seeing sympathy. Seeing someone who pitied her. Her heartbeat thrummed through her veins.

“What…?” was all that came out of Fenris’s mouth.

“You heard me,” she replied. “Everyone I like dies. And you’ll be next if… if you keep this up!”

Images of Taevel flashed through her mind. His cheery smile, the way he’d offered a helping hand wherever he could. He’d done such a good job as a scout for the Inquisition and he… he did not deserve his fate at the fall of Haven. If only she had stayed away from him, maybe it wouldn’t have turned out that way. Maybe he would have escorted the civilians out instead of rushing to help Ariel with her and Venna’s plan with the trebuchets.

But it wasn’t just one person, was it? It would be easier to dismiss if it was. No, it had to be Zevran too. For the first time, Ariel had been inches away from confessing, from finally letting go and telling the charming, Antivan elf how she felt. But when the storm of Adamant Fortress came, there was no looking back for him. When she had taken it upon herself to buy the others time, he threw himself into the fear demon.

She’d never had the chance. He was gone before she could say anything to him, gone before she’d confessed her feelings. After that, she woke to find out about his sacrifice. At first, she’d been furious that he’d done that. Then, she’d broken. Cried for weeks, alone in her room. If she went through that same heartbreak again, she didn’t think she could continue living this way. Why did life have to be so unfair?

“Ariel.” Fenris’s voice brought her back to reality. He was standing close to her, his hands on her arms. They felt numb, like they weren’t quite there, but she didn’t have the energy to push him away this time.

For the first time in a few moments, Ariel dared to look at him.

“You are worth the risk,” he said confidently.

That was enough to make Ariel break down again but this time, Fenris pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his chest and wet his clothes with her tears, but he didn’t care. All he did was pull her closer into his arms and rub her back. She bawled and bawled like a child crying over breaking a priceless vase and awaiting punishment. It was gross, definitely, but he held her through it.

After a little while, she settled down. She reluctantly peeled herself from his body and looked up at him. Fenris’s green eyes twinkled with fondness, affection, and it was enough to make her heart swell with appreciation. No one had ever seen her cry this intensely and still looked at her fondly afterward, but here was Fenris being even more incredible than she could ever have imagined.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“There is no need for thank you’s between us,” Fenris said. He carded his fingers through Ariel’s hair softly.

Ariel had heard many things about Fenris in the time she’d known him, about the ways that he’d killed people, about his past and the thing he’d done. They all portrayed him as this vicious monster, this _killing_ machine. He was burdened by the lyrium, blossoming into a dash of light with every vicious step. But they didn’t see _this_ side of him. They didn’t see the side of Fenris who held his lover so gently, who looked at her like she held the world in her eyes. They didn’t know him like she did and that was their own fault. They didn’t take the time to get to know him and see him for the person he truly was under all of that anger and vitriol.

“Can I kiss you again?” Fenris asked, his eyes lidded as he stared down at her.

Ariel smiled for the first time in quite some time and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes with a huff. She wanted nothing more than to be tightly held by him again, touched by him, he would definitely make sure that everything was going to be okay. She could only hope that fate wouldn’t come for him like it had for Taevel or Zevran. After all, there was no way that she could predict the future.

“I… Yes. I would like that very much,” she told him.

Fenris answered with a smile tugging on his own lips. He cupped her cheeks again and pulled her in for a soft kiss. It was much more careful than the last one. Their lips moved together in tandem, a soothing rhythm to the flow of their heartbeats. Fenris kissed her like there was no other place in the world he’d rather be.

And when they parted, Ariel settled back into his embrace. Warm, safe, protected. It was perfect.

There was nothing in the world that could ruin this moment. 


End file.
